The Museum of Fine Arts Houston’s presentation of Stephen
Shore’s photograph entitled “Yosemite, California” complies with the CCO rules.
Stephen Shore is an American photographer who is known for documenting scenes
and objects across the United States. Almost all of his photographic titles
throughout his work are descriptive by location. According to CCO rule
1.2.2.2.3 (Descriptive Titles), “where appropriate, refer to named or anonymous
figures, other works, or places depicted in the work. Include proper names, if
they are known,” the title of this photograph as “Yosemite, California,” is
very appropriate especially since the photograph represents a broad scenic shot
of that location which he, the creator, entitled. Other metadata is also
appropriately cataloged according to CCO 1.2 rules, including the artist’s
name, culture, and birth year, the date of work creation, medium, size, credit
line, current location, accession number and classification within the
collection. The presentation of this work through the MFAH’s database is clear
and accessible, although it could have linked to other related works.
The following ambrotype photograph from the Dennis
Historical Society’s digital archive does not comply with CCO rules,
unsuccessfully titled “An Ambryotype.” First and foremost, the process of
ambrotype is spelled incorrectly as “ambryotype.” That aside, according to the
CCO, rule 1.2.2.2.2 (Constructed Title), if no descriptive title is available
in an authoritative source, constructed titles may refer to the subject,
materials, form, or function of the work. Certainly, the historical society did
attempt to include the form and materials, but not in a standardized method as
CCO 1.2.2.1, Brief Rules for Title advises to avoid initial articles like “an”
which can limit searching. In addition, descriptive information about the image
within the photograph was not provided although the description line offers
information that, “The woman is not identified, but has a strong resemblance to
Polly Dillingham Crowell, wife of Prince Sears Crowell.” If the information of
Polly Dillingham Crowell can be authorized, I would entitle this “Ambrotype Portrait
of Polly Dillingham Crowell,” but because it is uncertain it would be best to
rephrase this image as “Ambrotype Portrait of an Unidentified Woman.” The
descriptive addition of “portrait,” will provide information that this is a
photograph, and more specifically, of the ambrotype photographic process. It is
known that the subject is a woman, therefore this information is vital to
comprehending the subject of the work, through a constructed title (CCO Rule
1.2.2.2.2, Constructed Title). Unfortunately, the rest of the metadata standards are extremely lacking as it disappoints me that the historical society is utilizing "photo" as a subject term--we can do better than that in this profession!!
Original Title: “An Ambryotype”
New Descriptive Title: “Ambrotype Portrait of an
Unidentified Woman”
CCO Rules Identified:
1.2.2.1 (Brief
Rules for Title): Initial Articles; Avoid
initial articles. Exceptions include titles for which the initial article is
critical to understanding the meaning or when the article is otherwise
generally included in authoritative sources.
1.2.2.2.2 (Constructed Title): If no descriptive title is available in an authoritative source, construct a descriptive title [...] Constructed titles may refer to the subject, the materials, the form, or the function of the work.
1.2.2.2.3 (Descriptive Titles: referring to figures, works, or places): Where appropriate, refer to named or anonymous figures, other works, or places depicted in the work.
1.2.2.2.2 (Constructed Title): If no descriptive title is available in an authoritative source, construct a descriptive title [...] Constructed titles may refer to the subject, the materials, the form, or the function of the work.
1.2.2.2.3 (Descriptive Titles: referring to figures, works, or places): Where appropriate, refer to named or anonymous figures, other works, or places depicted in the work.
An Ambryotype. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2015, from
http://archive.dennishistsoc.org/handle/10766/10736?show=full
Bartha, Martha. Cataloging Cultural
Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images. Chicago: American Library Association, 2006.
Shore, Stephen. Yosemite, California (n.d.). Retrieved
November 9, 2015, from https://collections.mfah.org/art/detail/16744
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